Midsummer Solstice Murder
by writerluv
Summary: Father Dominic sends Jesse and Suze to San Fransisco to investigate the mysterious deaths of seven people, who have no connections to each other, what so ever. While trying to find the murderer, they cross paths with the Charmed Ones. COMPLETE
1. The First Seven Murders

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--Chapter One: The Seven Murders--

Suze Simon, Carmel, California

"You want me to do what?" I screamed while jumping out of my chair, thus tipping it over that created a big "BANG!" I was pretty sure the whole school heard my outburst.

"Susannah, there is no need for shouting! Besides, you heard me; I want you and Jesse to go up to San Francisco and try to find _any_ of the victim's ghosts."

Wow. I have _never_ seen Father Dom so nervous and agitated. I mean he keeps on tapping his cigarette box and pacing up and down his office, muttering something about deaths of seven people. After that, the conversation went something like this:

Me: "_Just_ me and Jesse?"

Father D: "Yes."

Me: "Alone, without you or Paul?"

Father D: "Yes."

Me: "Why?"

Father D: "Mr. Slater is in Florida with Ms. Prescott, and, um, monsignor choked on a hot dog, again. So I have to go to Ohio to represent the school in an African Relief Program."

Me: "What do Andy and Mom know about this?"

Father D: "I told them that you will be in San Francisco for a school project for the summer and that you two will be staying in the Ritz Hotel _in separate rooms_."

A smile spread across my face, not because of the monsignor being the victim of poetic justice, again, or the fact I don't have to take on another summer job. No, the reason for my sudden joy was because of the time I will get to spend with Jesse. Since Jesse started college, we really never had any chance to spend with each other. I know, it was sad to take advantage of the poor people, but, hey, I want my time with my boyfriend.

"I assume you know my cell phone number." Father Dom suddenly said.

"Yes, I know your number, okay?" I snapped. What? I was really sleepy. Some ghost, last night, decided it was a good time to wake me up with the loveliest shrieks of a banshee (sp?).

When I was sitting patently in boredom, waiting for him to find whatever he needed, I found a stress ball in his drawer and started playing with it. Abruptly, he shoved a piece of paper that contained information I would need, if I needed to find him. Then he went down behind his desk and brought up a HUGE pile of files (they looked about the same height of my school records). Stacked on top of them were two plane tickets for San Francisco that was leaving in three days.

"The first seven files are about each victim and his or her personal life and the very top file is about whole case itself. Any questions?"

"No."

"Also, Susannah, there is something else you need to know…"

Piper Halliwell, The Manor, San Francisco, California

I can't concentrate! Not only do I have to constantly clean this house of demon goo, take care of Wyatt, Chris and P3, but I also have to worry about this stupid murder case. Why can't have normal problems like regular people?! But I guess this is what happens when you are born into a family of witches.

Where was everybody? Oh yeah, Billie was with her boyfriend in, um, Carmel, I think. Right now it was 5:50, she said that she would be home by 6:00. Leo was at P3 auditioning bands, and Phoebe and Paige were at the police station asking Darryl about these deaths. All of them left me here at The Manor cleaning up demon goo and listening to endless crying from my children.

"Piper, Piper!"

Great Phoebe and Paige are home, I wonder what they learned. It was 6:05, where is Billie?

Phoebe Halliwell, The Manor, San Francisco, California

"Piper, you'll never guess what we just learned today!" I cried.

"Would you like to enlighten me?" Piper replied lamely.

Paige started shoving Piper the crime files.

"Darryl said the victims had no connections to each other, but they all had these funny symbols burned into their left palms." I started.

Piper shuddered when she came across a picture of a palm with the symbol. All I could really think about was why anyone would want to burn a single _eye_ into a hand.

"It's the symbol of Horus, an Egyptian god," Paige explained, "of the sky. You might want to check The Book though." Where she learned that, I will never know. I thought Billie said that she would be home by 6:00, right now it was 6:30. Did a demon get her?


	2. Chapter 2

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Apologies and Premonitions

Billie Driving to the Manor from Carmel

Oh. My. Gosh. The sisters were so going to kill me. But the sister I was most scared of was Piper. You don't even want to see her when she's angry with someone-- let alone be in her path. That was how bad it can be, sometimes things starts blowing up. And yeah, I did tell them I would be home by six, but, hey, I wanted more time with my boyfriend.

He lives in Carmel, which is about two hours and nine minutes away from San Francisco and a beautifully town with the most gorgeous beach ever. Between my witchly duties and his apparently tough NoCal classes, we haven't been able to have a regular date that was memorable. Yet, I can still feel the warm sun beating down on my back; the waves crashing against the shoreline; the gulls screeching and mercilessly pooping everywhere; his hair reflecting in the rays of the sun, which brought out the bags under his sexy eyes; and his hands all over me…

Though, with all the murders and a possible demon on the loose, I was on my _knees_, begging them to let me go.

You know, there really wasn't much on the news about the murders. Yeah, _they talk about it_, but that was all. And it was kind of boring to hear the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over again. I know there was something going on; why else would Darryl call them about the case? I just wish they would tell me what was going on here! Or did they, and I was not listening? These are the questions that haunt me…

Just great, finally pulled up in front of the Halliwell Manor, and I still haven't been able to come up with a decent lie. Um, I got stuck in traffic, that was good. And I couldn't call to tell them because my phone died. If that doesn't work then I will have to resort to Plan B!

Paige Halliwell Attic of the Manor

_Horus_

_Horus, the god of the sky, was the son of two most powerful gods, Isis and Osiris. At the time, Seth, Horus's uncle, was an evil ruler of ancient Egypt, as well as the original Source and eventually challenged the powers of Isis and Osiris._

Ah, that was where the whole 'Source' thing started. Yeah, I came up to the attic to make sure I was right about the eye thing. Good news, I was right. Bad news, things were a _tiny bit_ more complicated, than we thought.

_In many legends, Horus is found battling his equally powerful uncle. In the most- and last- battle, Seth attempts to finish his nephew once and for all, but ends up only injuring Horus' eye. _

_After many weeks of bloodshed, Horus finally defeats his uncle. As punishment, Seth was mummified, alive, by Horus, himself. Many of Seth's followers and children, Sifters, did not take this lightly. In the end, all they could do was resurrect his powers and give them to a worthy demon. But they were able to curse all of Horus'children, Mediators. An inscription was found at the bottom of the Giza pyramids, loosely translated by an ambitious Egyptologist:_

_Every 1000 years, a powerful shifter will be able to bring back the Demon Lord Seth, and with his help, Seth will rise again. Twelve days before the Summer Solstice, he will kill one mediator a day and steal his or her powers. On the day of the Solstice, Seth will kill a special mediator whose power is beyond the living and the dead. Then, he will lead the demons to the downfall of all Good._

Great. No pressure. All we have to do is prevent the original Source from destroying all Good and giving evil the upper hand. Okay, all I need to do is find out more about these Mediator/ Shifter characters.

"Billie, where on earth have you been?!" I heard a roar from the living room. Random explosions—varying from small to big—emphasized Piper's tirade as she went further on into it.

Sound's like Billie's home.

"I'm so sorry. I got stuck in traffic and I couldn't call because my phone died," Billie pleaded for sympathy.

Liar. I saw her phone charging yesterday. Better get down there and fast. I orbed down to get there more quickly and hoped some of my furniture will be spared of Piper's rage.

Everyone turned to me when they heard the familiar jingling of the orb. The fight immediately halted, and baffled, yet curious, faces stared me down, clearly asking whether I have any information on anything.

"Despite all the yelling towards me, I will still give you all your presents." Billie strategically took hold of the awkward silence. She dove into her bag and brought out three wooden jewelry boxes. Maybe this was some sort of compensation for being late by, oh, thirty minutes? After Billie passed the boxes out, we studied each of our own box, until Phoebe froze. She looked like she was getting another premonition. When she came back, all of us could tell it was bad, for she was panting.

"There were two people, a young adult, Latino boy and an adolescent girl being attacked by a floating demon," Phoebe started, "They were behind P3, and I heard what sounded like 80's music in the background."

"80's music?" Piper questioned, "But 80's day is in three days!"

"What else did you see?" I urgently urged Phoebe. In three days, more people could be dead with more eye markings on their hand! In three days, two people will be attacked by a floating demon! I honestly think the Elders should give us a break every once in a while! Seriously, we need it. With all this trouble going on, how on earth are we suppose to handle the responsibilities of caretakers of all good?

"The boy was unconscious and the demon was floating over him, and it looked like the demon was sucking out the life force of the guy. The girl was in the corner, crying. The thing that was strange, though, was what the girl said: 'Don't kill Jesse. He doesn't deserve to die _again_.'" Phoebe paraphrased. "Again"? Is the girl implying that this Jesse person had died before? Or was it a mistake of word choice under duress?

"Weird," Billie said, breaking more of the awkward silence.

The front door creaked open to reveal Leo who obviously came home from the P3 band interview standing there, looking tired. Not a minute too soon, Phoebe bombarded him with what she saw and the things that Daryl has told us, and I informed everyone else about the things I found out from the Book so far. Leo's face darkened and told me to get the Book and look up one more thing in there.


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3: Drop Dead Gorgeous

Suze Pov Behind P3, Three days later

I twisted and turned my neck in hopes to get rid of the crink in my neck from the ridiculously long plane ride to here! It takes less than three hours to get down here by car, yet it took more than five hours to get in and out of the airports (I feel, almost as if, Father Dominic doesn't trust us, or me more likely). First, the airline people said that our luggage was lost or mixed up along the way here. All my designer clothes and my favorite Jimmy Choo shoes were in there. So, the "school research trip" wasn't starting well.

Then, Jesse being the self-righteous, hot, eighteenth century man he is went and complained to the manager of our airline (who also was a woman) about how when we, the consumers, pay and entrust our personal belongings to the service, the people we pay, who should take care of their clients if they want repeated business. Apparently, the manager took Jesse's criticisms very well and personally sought our luggage, but more likely, she tried to impress MY boyfriend. Eventually, everything was found in the carrousel next to ours.

The ride here itself _was_n't that bad, except for the fact Father D. forgot to mention that Jesse and I weren't sitting together! Instead, some random, old guy sat between us. Even though Jesse begged him to switch seats with one of us, the _old_ man didn't budge!

Throughout the ride, the _old_ guy slept on Jesse's shoulder and produced a foul smell throughout the plane. Though, it was pretty funny seeing Jesse so uncomfortable.

Hum, I don't know how I prevented myself from laughing.

Unfortunately, it was no laughing matter when we got to our separated rooms and turned on the T.V.

One more person died and had that strange, freaky eye symbol on his hand. During the overlap between my meeting with Father Dom and the trip, two more people died, as well. Somehow, I have come to the conclusion that California is death-central of the U.S. After Jesse, Heather, RLS Angles, Craig and what was going on in San Francisco right now, I don't know how California can't be death-central.

I bent down to pick up what seemed like an important piece of evidence, which turned out to be another napkin with "P3" written on it and peanut salt all over it. Stooping down like that didn't help the anti-soreness campaign.

"Querida, tell me again why we're here behind a night club, again?" Jesse agitatedly asked once more. Don't ask why we were looking for clues behind in the dumps of P3. Of coarse, I wanted to go in but no. Jesse was just a tad bit to weary to enter into his first nightclub, and this tall, shaved-bald, African American guy wished to see my ID. After I showed him, he said I was too young to go clubbing and that Jesse is was too old for me. HA! If only he knew.

Other than my insatiable desire to enter into the hottest club in all of San Francisco, I have a feeling that _something _important was going to happen. Jesse, on the other hand, was scarred out of his wits, which is quite unusual, if you think about it. His usual calmness is rather… unusual. Yet, he keeps on muttering that something _bad_ was going to happen, but when was he ever right? Oh, yeah, all the time.

Car alarms and back way trashcans haphazardly went off and fell simultaneously. Jesse looked both ways outside of the alley, before pulling me off to the side behind the dumpster. _Please don't find us._ I prayed to whoever cared about whoever was now chasing us.

I stole a peek from the side of the slimly and roach infested hideout to see what we were dealing with. A tall man, with bulging muscles in a knee-length skirt, glided across the air like he was skating on ice, but he didn't have the glowing aura like ghosts do.

His head swiftly jerked side to side like he was scanning, searching for something too. For some reason in his eyes, the floating man seemed dead which gave him more of an evil vibe. His hair was pulled back in a greased ponytail and a little goatee grew on his face. No wonder why Jesse was so scared of him, this man has some bad taste in clichés.

The non-ghost, floating man stopped right in front of our hiding spot. I averted back behind the smelly dumpster, breathing in and out slowly, the way my former psychiatrist taught me to do when I was under stress. A soft laughter came from behind. I patted the air behind me to see if the grimy dumpster was still there, which it wasn't. I turned to Jesse who reflected the same terror in my face. Something tugged Jesse back away into the arms of the floating man and caused him to faint. Jesse's face became pale, even more than in the hospital a few months ago right after I brought him back.

The maniac laughed and waved his arm, sending an invisible force which pushed me into the corner. I tried to get back up, but unseen ropes bound me to the ground.

Jesse remanded unmoving in the man's arms, all limp and lifeless. Gold dust rose from Jesse, and was inhaled by our attacker. He smiled maliciously; he looked as if he was a predator who just found and killed his perfect prey.

No.

"Don't kill Jesse. He doesn't deserve to die again!" I pleaded. "Please, take me instead! Just don't kill Jesse!" The man took to no understanding of what I said, but he somehow understood that I loved Jesse and would beg to save him. Unfortunately, this fueled him even more. God, Jesse, don't die, not now.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4: Botched Plans

Phoebe Pov P3:

Ever since I explained to Leo my premonition, he's been acting weird. First, he asked Paige to bring down the Book. Next, he needs to go to Magic School. Weird, I know.

Three more people died in the past three days. Whoever this Seth was, I bet he keeps his promises well because all the victims were killed at the same time, in the same manner.

I leaned against bar, watching out for the innocents on the dance floor while Paige guarded the front door to pull them out. Piper was supposed to check the behind the club, but minor technical problems rose with the band, so I volunteered to do double duty.

"Would like anything else, Ms. Halliwell?" Dave, the new bartender, asked.

"Yes, another Diet Coke with no ice, please," I ordered. He pulled out another bottle of Coke and opened it for me.

"Thank you." Dave smiled and tended/flirted with a girl who ordered a Shirley Temple as she carelessly immersed herself into a conversation with reasonably cute guy next to her. Occasionally, her eye would wonder toward Dave's direction when his back was turned. You don't have to be an empath to know what was going on in her mind.

"Hey, Dave?" I called to him. He grew curious as to what I want due to the fact that I hardly touched my Diet Coke.

Slowly, he approached me with even more anxiety when he saw the girl scooting closer to the cute guy.

"Yes, Ms. Halliwell?" he miserably questioned, while the girl and the cute guy went out onto the dance floor filled with eighties lovers. Everyone was dressed in loose outfits or out-of-date fashion icons of the eighties, in the end they either looked like they came out of _Flashdance_ or _Footloose_. Some danced to the beat, and others flung themselves across the floor.

"Go ask her out when she comes back, Dave. And don't question me!" I rudely interrupted him as he was about to give a reason why he shouldn't. Dave sulked back to his usual position, and, surprisingly, the girl came back to the bar alone. He leaned over and whispered something pleasant in her ear, for she smiled and slipped a piece of paper into his hand. He quickly glanced behind and mentally thanked me for the advice. The average day of an advice columnist.

"Hey, Phoebe, when you stop playing match maker, could you possibly take my position?" Piper asked, while carrying a try of empty drinks.

"Yeah, sure!" I straightened myself and pushed my way against the crowd. Wow. There were a lot of people tonight. Over the combined noises of music and chattering, I could hear some car alarms going off.

"Paige! Paige!" I called for my sister when I got to the back door.

"Yeah?" she asked as she orbed in front of me.

"Get Piper, now," I commanded her. Paige left in another mass of white-blue lights and a second later brought the eldest.

"What is it? Are they here?" Piper asked, as she tried to open the door. "God, it's stuck!" she complained and tugged harder in the knob. "Move back!" She flung her hands, and the door splintered into millions of pieces.

Just like in my premonition, the two kids and Seth were in the same exact spots.

"Don't kill Jesse. He doesn't deserve to die again!" she pleaded. "Please, take me instead! Just don't kill Jesse!" Seth floated there, just floated there. He didn't care whether the girl pleaded, begged or anything. His intent was clear: to kill Jesse.

"Hey!" Piper screamed, "I would step away from the kids if I were you!" Seth swiveled around and was greeted by Piper's infamous explosions. He shattered in the pieces, but all came back together.

"What the--?" Piper began.

"He's The Source! We have to use the Power of Three spell!" I tugged on my sister's sleeve. Before we could even begin the spell, Seth knew, at least, what we were and shimmered immediately out with Jesse in his arms. . Now we diverted all our attention from the spot where the demon took Jesse to the chest nut haired girl, who was in the corner, crying.

Suze's Pov

Three women stood in the door way of the club, looking dumbfounded as I was.

How one earth did they do that? How did they blow the guy up, and have the guy come back together in one piece?

As a mediator, I shouldn't be so surprised that things like this would happen but how?

They slowly approached me like I was some frightened animal they wanted to kill.

"Stay away from me!" I yelled and pointed my finger at them. I stood up as quickly as I could but slipping because of all the grime back here. My jeans tore on my knees, and my hair became entangled with the loose trash. Luckily, I managed to get up and have a head start. I tried not to look back

"Piper, freeze her!" the head-red demanded.

"I'm trying, it's not working!" The slightly chubby brunet informed, waving her hands like a maniac.

"Um, a…For those hearts that weep,

Put the innocent to sleep.

Help her heal the love she's lost.

Never to know at what cost." The last one chanted. Soon my eyes began to droop, and my legs broke down, not able to even sustain me any longer. I collapsed and then blacked out.

Leo Pov Magic School:

It even took Horus a couple of tries to vanquish Seth, yet he still got injured in the process. Even worse, Seth was the most ruthless demons of his time. He even chopped up his own brother into small pieces and spread them all over Egypt, so no one can mummify him and let him move on into the next life. After that, his brother's wife enigmatically disappeared without a word, leaving her only son to fend for himself against his evil uncle.

I knew the Sisters were even more powerful than Horus, but even Horus couldn't "kill" his uncle per se. All he could do was _trap_ the demon via mummification. I don't even believe the Source spell will even work on him…this would be proven true, especially after the summer solstice.

Unless there was something that I was missing, something I didn't get that would permanently put him to rest. If there was…_hello_…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Shifters

Billie Pov

I hated it when they send me up to get the Book. It was so boring. What I really want to do is vanquish the demon. What was his name again? Seth, I think. Oh, well. I can check the Book.

I feel so bad for the girl…I mean she was her boyfriend being kidnapped and then hit by Phoebe's spell improve.

"Billie, how long does it take to get a book?" screamed Piper. Damn. She was loud. I wonder why sometimes she can be so bitchy. Maybe it had something to do with having two kids. I hope I don't become like Piper when I have kids… that would be bad, very bad. And ever since she came back with the innocent and lost the demon along with the other innocent, she's been extra mean.

"Sorry, Piper. But I needed to check something."

"Whatever," I heard her mumble.

"You know what is really confusing me," Phoebe intervened, "_why_ did he let the girl go? I mean, that _isn't_ very demon-like." The others chimed in agreement and nodded their heads.

"Maybe he was going to kill her after he was finished with the guy," Paige suggested.

"Or maybe," Piper started, "She's working with Seth."

"Piper… how could you say that! Yeah, he spared her, but that doesn't mean she's a shifter!" Paige argued.

"Well, it isn't the first time evil tricked us!" she retorted with a very nasty look, shot at me.

"I thought you were over that! And may I remind you what I had to do for the sake of good?" I shouted. I am so sick and tired of Piper. She just carelessly drops bits about Christy. It's not my fault she was evil!

"So…what did you need the book for, Piper?" Phoebe, elongating 'so,' asked.

"Oh, yeah, I just needed to see the page on Shifters," she responded. Piper causally flipped through the book, 'till she found the page.

"Ha! I found it!" she exclaimed.

"What were you looking for?" I asked while I stood on my toes, looking over everyone's shoulders.

"A Shifter reviling spell," Paige read out loud. We all gave her questionable expressions. "Well, at least it's something".

The sisters huddled around The Book—and leaving me out of all the fun—and chanted the reveling spell.

"Terror of the night,

Creatures of fright,

Revile to us your demon side

Traveler of time

By which you ride," the sisters simultaneously ended.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes four… and nothing. Well, the spell did as much good as me doing something productive- other than demon fighting, of course.

"Ha! Nothing, Piper, nothing! Told you she wasn't a Shifter!" Phoebe shouted. Then, the girl moved in her sleep, twisting her hand, showing a strange mark that wasn't there before…

"Oh, my God." I heard Paige whisper.

"Paige, go get Leo, we need him here, and Phoebe and Billie…help me get her up in the attic…and set up the crystals before she wakes," Piper commanded. We split up and went to our assigned tasks, wondering what the Hell was going on.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authoress Note:** Please, I be of you, please review! My ego is being stabbed and left to bleed into my heart! I know you guys are reading this...first one to review will get a sneak peak at the last chapter...

Chapter 6: The Dream

Suze POV

Right or left door, which one should I to choose? They were both so beautiful; one was made of ivory and the other gold, both endowed with symbols and random pictures. In reality, no word could describe the invaluable beauty.

_Choose with your heart. One is bound to lead back to Jesse._ The little voice in the back of my head said.

But the question was where was Jesse? Even more, where am I? Here it looks so much like the Shadow Land… but it wasn't. I mean, there was the fog that danced around my feet and the starless sky above but no rows of doors, just these two. And any memory I had of the past day or so was just another misty fog.

Nothing can help me now, only thing I could do now was choose and pray for the best.

_Just pick a door, any place is better than here._ And the voice was right… any place was better than here, it gave me even worse feelings than the Shadowland.

Think, Suze, think. Deep breath…

_Ivory._

I pushed the ancient door with all my might, exerting all of the little energy I possessed. The door creaked open, revealing a gleaming white light on the other side.

Taking another deep breath, I braced myself for the worst. Technically, I wasn't suppose to open and enter any door if I didn't want to die, but there weren't any gladiators here to tell me that, and two, I probably shouldn't have gone into the light like the old woman wanted Carol-Anne to do in _Poltergeist. _

But I did. Despite what instinct told me, I did, for each step I got closer, I could hear Jesse…

I landed on my butt in a room full of sand. The sand rose, forcing me to cough the particles that entered my lungs. The room seemed so familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on where or when I saw it before. The walls looked to be made of some sort of yellowish stone and faded drawing covered every square inch of the place. Movement stirred from nearby.

"Jesse, Jesse, Jesse, what am I going to do with you? Seth and I tried to be reasonable but you wouldn't talk…you brought this upon yourself, you know". Suddenly, a secret door slid opened, and a vague figure threw in a tattered and torn man into the sand floor. The man coughed up blood and sand, and his black hair fell into his eyes. I soon recognized the man to be none other than my love, Jesse.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Slater," Jesse stuttered. Rewind and stop. Did he just say, "Slater"? He was suppose to be in Florida with Kelly (as if she needed more sun frying her brain)!

"I know _you_ don't know, but Horus does," Paul continued mockingly. He strutted over to Jesse and knelt down beside him.

"What does Horus have to do with anything?" Jesse spat back. Paul stood back up and smiled at Jesse's lack of knowledge.

"I wouldn't be worrying about Horus… for now…I'm pretty sure you would want to be worrying about your precious _Querida_," Jesse tried to stand up, but the extent of his unknown injuries got the better of him.

"Also, there's a certain _Father_ that will be in danger… sooner or later." Paul laughed wickedly.

"What are you talking about?" Jesse whispered in a harsh tone. Paul, clearly affronted by the lack of fear from Jesse, kicked him in the ribs to show who was the superior one in this twisted relationship.

"Never mind that," Paul said urgently, "Well, have a pleasant stay!" he chirped, while giving the final blow to Jesse in the stomach.

I desperately wanted to go to Jesse; to comfort him like he always has done for me so many times. But I couldn't. I was prettified by fear, the very fear Paul wanted from Jesse.

Jesse Pov Strange Room

After Slater left the room, I finally allowed myself to cry and release the fear that Seth wished to incur. Though the fear wasn't for my life but for Susannah's. I know she would stop at nothing to get me back, even if it cost her her life. And that was what I worried about most.

I know I would never be in mí Querida's arms again because I would be here, forever, being tortured to no end without the aid of any instruments. Odd words combined with their evilness did all the work for them.

How could I have been so reckless in putting her life in danger? What could I do to get out of here?

As if to respond to my cries, my body gathered the last of the dwindling strength to pull itself up against a wall. My arms pulled my aching body to a line of ­­hieroglyphic writing. My lips moved on its own, pronouncing words it has never spoken before. Then I slept.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Memories

Running, that was the girl could do. Running down the sandy path, only lit by the occasional torch. Running away from whom or what with tears streaming down her face.

Her brown hair bounced up and down as she urged herself to go faster and faster to the end. At the end of the hall, there were more torches, gathered in a dimly lighted room. Once the girl got there, she jumped into the arms of a half-naked man.

"Hathor…" he whispered lovingly into her hair, rubbing her apparently bare back. Hathor looked up to the man with her smudged makeup and on going tears.

"Horus! Horus! We are in deep trouble! He's on to us, he's on to us!" she screamed with more tears racing off her face.

"Shh, shh, it's all right, Hathor. I'm pretty sure that Seth doesn't know a thi-" the man jumped too quickly to reassure her.

"No! No! Not Seth, Horus, Bes knows something is going on!" Hathor screamed in frustration, unlatching herself from Horus and threw her arms up n a dramatic manner.

"What would Bes know anyway? I mean he's as stupid as a…" Horus spat maliciously.

"Don't underestimate him, Horus! To you he might be stupid, but in reality he is smart! Smart enough to get on Seth's good side! And smart enough to know something and threaten me," Hathor added somberly. Horus took her hand into his, but she turned her face to the ground.

"Hathor, how did he threaten you?" Horus asked genuinely.

"He said..." poor Hathor started but then started chocking on her words, "He says that he will tell Seth tha- tha- tha- that I am betraying our kind if I don't marry him!"

"Oh," Horus stated in a dead manner.

"'Oh?' That's all you got to say is 'Oh'?! Great, I come here crying, risking my own life, again, and even worse you sound like you don't care! Is that how you treat all your lovers? What am I to you? Some crazy girl, who you can control easily?" Hathor slapped Horus right across the face and left in a dramatic manner.

"Hathor, wait!" shouted Horus. Hathor ignored his pleas to go back to him. Suddenly, she just stopped in the middle of her storm out. She remained frozen until Horus grabbed her, and she threw her limbs everywhere.

"I' m sorry, I know you hate it when I freeze you- to some extent-, but I need you to listen," Horus said with sadness of the world in his eyes.

"Horus, I'm not the one who should be listening more. Every time I warn you not to go into battle with Seth, but you do it anyway. Every time I tell you that a plan won't work, you persist to go on ahead with it! Every time I-" her rants stopped. Horus had the nerve to kiss her, a very passionate one at that. When they let go for air, she seemed unaffected by it.

"Horus, let me go. I need to get back. There's stuff to be done," she looked towards the ground, making sure that eye contact didn't happen. Hathor looked up to find a floating mirror in front of her. She became even more determined to avoid eye contact.

"Hathor, Hathor, if you're not going to look at me, a least look in the mirror," begged Horus. With some help from Horus, Hathor slowly lifted her head and gazed into the appearing mirror.

Hathor intensely studied the reflection. She couldn't help but admire her lover's black, glistening hair and omniscient, brown eyes. Then compared it all—his charms, his wit, his comfort—to her own physical and mental traits. Her brown hair wasn't all that special or her green eyes—they were nothing like Horus's.

"I still have to go." She turned and gave a peck on Horus's cheek and fled the scene before anyone else questioned her.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: A Little Secret

Piper Halliwell: The Attic

I paced along the boarder of the attic, contemplating on the recent news. Morris called again to inform us another person was murdered in the same manner with the same marking, except, this time, it was an eight year old girl. Apparently she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; she was separated from her mother.

A soft moan arose from the sleeping Shifter. I stopped pacing and diverted all my attention to her.

"Who are you, and why are you working with Seth?" I said with much animosity. The Shifter stirred, she clearly didn't know where she was. She slowly got up; taking in her surroundings with something in her eyes I thought I would never see: fear.

"Who are you, and why are you working with Seth?" I repeated. The Shifter tried to run the other way but only to be zapped by the crystals, like all the other demons before her. "Don't make me repeat myself, Shifter, who are you, and why are you working with Seth?"

"H-h-how do you know?" she stuttered while turning around. Wow. She does look awful; her hair is just one big puff, and some garbage streaks covered her.

"You are not in the position to be asking questions," I said in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Piper, Phoebe, I'm back with Leo!" Oh, great. Paige was back. More people to get the Shifter to talk, the better.

"I'm up here, Paige, I coming down!" I screamed back. The Shifter looked from side to side, obviously intrigued by the conversation. I was greeted by everyone when I walked down. Boy, Leo looked worse than when he was an Elder.

"So, Phoebe and Paige tell me you have a Shifter," Leo said with much surprise,

"They are very hard to capture."

"Yeah, but not much interrogation took place because she just woke up," I said,

"Morris called, he said they found another body of an eight-year-old girl behind a car dealership," I informed everybody of the morbid news. Everyone's face became grim with one thought: One day, only one more day until Seth becomes fully powerful. One more day until the solstice…

"I found something that might help you guys vanquish Seth," he said in his usual 'This is What Happened' voice, trying to give us some hope in this twisted situation,

"Over three thousand years ago, two gods were at war, Horus and Seth-"

"Leo, we already know about that!" Phoebe exasperatedly announced.

"I know that, but it is really important that we start from the beginning!" Leo really sounded agitated. "Seth successfully killing Horus's father, Osiris, he took his place as ruler of Egypt. And during that time of his rule, Seth had one wife- who was powerful evil witch- and many lovers. With his wife, he had one child- a girl- named Hathor. Unlike her half brothers and sisters, Hathor had a conscience. And with that conscience, she found love with the last person anyone would have never dreamed of."

"Horus," everyone whispered, we were all clearly enticed by the story. Though, I hate to say it, the whole thing was kind of cliché-ish.

"Yes, Horus," Leo sighed, "She somehow was the key to vanquishing Seth the first time, but I don't know how."

"So, is there anything we can do?" Paige asked.

"There is, but it's kind of a long shot," Leo grimaced, "Horus and Hathor weren't stupid. They knew that the other shifters would try to bring Seth back, and they knew once they were gone, nothing could stop him. So they made sure that they were reincarnated when Seth came back. That's the end," his beautiful face became even further twisted. Life of a witch, confusing and complicated; it's never simple.

"So all we need to find the reincarnations of Hathor and Horus?" Billie asked.

"It's not that simple. They could be anywhere now, dead or alive," Phoebe stated.

"Or maybe, in our attic," Paige suggested.

"What do ya mean?" I declared.

"It makes sense, doesn't it?" she continued, stopping on the landing, "Phoebe said the girl said, 'Don't kill Jesse', and she just happens to be a Shifter. And we all know that there is no such thing a coincidence. And just because she is a Shifter doesn't mean she's evil, Hathor is proof that not all shifters are evil."

"I guess so," I mumbled, "I hope you're not wrong."

"When have I?" she smiled. Paige continued to walk up, followed by Leo, Phoebe and Billie.

Suze Simon POV

Great job Suze, how much more trouble can you cause. Since the brunette left, I've been trying to escape but no. She just happens to have blue force field that shocks people who try to leave. I wonder if she does this to all her captives.

How does she know that I am a Shifter? Well, so much for shifting powers, to bad I couldn't just shift outside (well, I probably could, but I stopped going to Paul's lessons along time ago).

"What should we do?" some voices said. Great people.

"Shifter, I wouldn't do anything if I were you," the same brunet said when she and four other people came in.

"We need to know everything, if you want to save Jesse" another brunet said.

"Why should I trust you of all people? And how do know about him?" I screamed, tears fell down my cheeks. I really want to get out and find Jesse.

"Because they are the only ones who can find him," a blonde piped up in the back.

"I won't get out if I don't talk, will I?" I said in a shockingly reasonable tone. The only response form anybody was a sad smile. I took a deep breath and began.

"My name is Suze Simon and I am a Shifter…"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: More Awkward Conversations

Well, I told them everything. Form Jesse the ghost to, well, now. At least they looked like they believed me (only after casting a truth spell on me).

Yeah, did I mention that they are witches ("good witches," as Phoebe kept on emphasizing on the "good")?

Weird, isn't it? I mean, Father D. always said that there are chances of other beings with similar "gifts" from God. And I kid you not. There are tons of millions of witches, warlocks, fairies, familiars, lepracons (yes, lepracons!) and the list goes on- as well as whitelighters or guardian angles for the mortals.

Also they have a really cool book called the Book of Shadows- it's pretty much like an encyclopedia for magical creatures. But every time I ask to look on the page for Shifters or the guy that kidnapped Jesse (Seth, I think his name was…why was it so familiar?) they just pull me away from the book, explaining in their version about what was going on and not even explaining everything.

"Look, Suze, are you sure there's nothing else you know?" Piper pleaded. Oops. I forgot to mention about the dreams, but what are dreams? I mean they're just a figment of our imaginations, right? As I was leaving toward the kitchen Phoebe grabbed me, but then she froze.

Phoebe Halliwell

I tried to stop Suze, I knew she was hiding something…I should know, I'm an empath. But when I grabbed her, I got more than what I bargained for:

We were in a hallway that led to a fountain. Lockers and doors surrounded us. I diverted my attention from the fountain to Suze…she was in a stanza that I all know to well…we were about to fight. I looked to my left and found my sisters holding couple of vials and a piece of paper.

"The only people who are willing to fight me are three witches and a newbie shifter?" Seth laughed tauntingly, "Give it up already! No spell or potion will stop me, especially after this last sacrifice!" he materialized and held up an old man in priest clothing, his glasses barely hung on. For a split second Suze weakened her position but suddenly found new strength to fight, clearly blinded by fury.

"Let. Him. Go!" Suze ordered, her fists clenched even further.

"Sorry, Susie-Q, but he needs him, and there's nothing you can do; Seth is too powerful, even for these witches," spat a blonde, blue eyed boy that shimmered behind her. Her face became even more sour as she turned, about to kick him, but he grabbed her leg and twisted her. "Now, you should play nice, Susie, if you don't, then I will be forced to do things that I really don't want to do," the boy continued to goad her. In his hand a knife appeared, accompanied with Jesse in front of it.

"You wouldn't," Suze maliciously whispered.

"I wouldn't, but I can't guarantee the same thing for Seth," he sarcastically pondered.

"Help," the old man wheezed.

"Don't worry, all your troubles will be all over soon," Seth cooed in the man's ear. Suze unwittingly went after him, only ending up slumping against a wall. Jesse tried to break free of the boy's grip by gutting him with his elbow. As they fought, Piper and Paige threw their potions at Seth's feet, but nothing worked. The old man had a gash at his throat. Seth brought the lockers down upon Paige and Piper. Jesse fell at his opponent's feet with the same knife that once was at his throat, now in his back.

"Do you see know, witch?" Seth roared, "Nothing can stop me, I'm invincible!" Before I could even react, I was delivered the same fate as everyone else…

"Phoebe, Phoebe! Wake up!" Piper screamed. Then someone threw water all over me. I found myself on the couch in the living room. I tired to talk, but water inhibited me to speak.

"What did you see?" Paige urged me.

"Our demise."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Hope

Paige POV:

"I don't care if I die! I just want Jesse to be safe!" Suze bawled. Tears threatened to spill over.

"Suze, listen, sweetie, you were there, and you got hurt. We can't take the chance of them killing you, you are our innocent, and we need-- no must—protect you. At all costs." Piper grimly added. We all tried to calm her down but nothing worked. Suze has a thick head; she might as well be an honorary Halliwell. And as any Halliwell here in the Manor, once we make a decision, we never back down, no matter what.

Despite Piper and Phoebe's warnings, she still wants to help fight against Seth. Personally, I think it would be better if we brought Suze with us…she must know _something_ about shifting that we don't know. We must be missing something…

The Shifter paced back and forth, mumbling how she needs to protect Jesse and the priest. Piper took a deep breath and softly spoke: "I know how you feel. I almost lost my husband, and the thought of it just drove me crazy. So crazy, that I nearly lost my family, along with a really great friend." She smiled at Billie. In turn, Billie looked perplexed and being called a 'great friend.' Deep down, I think Billie knew that Piper has forgiven her. Phoebe smiled too at the whole forgiveness fest but probably nettled at the fact that she could feel it ten times stronger. Suze stopped for a second, glancing around.

"I just want Jesse and Father Dom to be safe," she barely spoke. Everyone sadly smiled at the poor girl. We all want love and a chance at a normal life—where everyone is safe--, but because of our destiny and powers, it is our duty to help the innocents. At least most of us found our one true love, it just gets complicated when it mixes with our witch duties.

"One thing you must learn when it comes to magic: there is a reason for everything. Most of my premonitions can be altered, but in rare cases, some have been set in hard stone. If they were meant to die, then we can't do anything about it, but I swear that we will do any and everything in our power to stop Seth," Phoebe vowed. Silence filled the room, only to be broken by Billie's excitement.

"Let's go kick some demon a.ss!" She cheered. Her enthusiasm gave us new hope, new strength. We followed her up to the attic with hope that we can once and for all kill the Source of all evil. Suze smiled.

"I have a good feeling about everything."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Mistakes

Phoebe POV:

Each plan seemed worse and worse than the last one. Though progress has been made, still crumpled paper became somewhat of a problem. Piper was down in the kitchen making some a.ss kicking potions while Paige and I were coming up with spells. Suze on the other hand knew nothing of the craft, so she ended up inspecting every square inch of the attic.

"Well, we have the spell, but how on earth are we going to trap him?" Piper, frustrated, accidentally blew up a small part the attic. Suze, unaware of Piper's tiffs, jumped up and landed on the pile of crumpled paper, causing them all to fly up in the air.

"Jesus Christ! That is not funny!" Suze screamed in rage before storming out of the room. "I'm going into the kitchen to look for some Diet Coke!" She informed us.

Piper snickered at that thought. "Like Hell I would keep anything remotely sweet around here."

"How about we just go there…you know, wing it," Billie suggested. More than once we've gone into battle without so much as a clue on what was going on, but this was different. This was The Source of Evil, the original to be more precise. And he had all this power that we never knew existed. Paige and Piper seemed to be thinking along the same lines as well. I was about to say something but pots and pans clattered to the floor.

"Was that because I didn't have any diet Coke?" Piper whispered to herself. We ran down the stair to the kitchen and found Suze had collapsed on the floor. I scooped her into my arms and placed her on the couch.

"I have to get to Jesse, I need to go…" she mumbled.

"Okay, okay, um," I began, "Billie, get everything we need, Piper, bottle up the rest of the potions and, Paige, help me at least revive Suze!" They all went into separate directions to prepare for the fight of a life time.

"We have to leave now, we have to leave now!" Suze repeated over again in the chaos.

"Everybody ready?" Paige asked. We all nodded our heads and grabbed each other's hand as Paige lifted us into the sky.

Only guided by Suze, we landed in the hall of my premonition. Hopefully, with the future on our side, we would once and for all vanquish Seth.

"I see you've come crawling to me Susie-Q. I never really picked you to be the type that does that. Oh well!" A person in the corner laughed. Suze's eyes intensified and became little slits, this could only mean one thing: bad news.

"What are you doing here Slater?" She seethed between her teeth. The Slater boy chuckled and came out of the shadowy corner.

"Susie, sweetie, you better leave before something happens that you would regret." In his arms materialized Jesse who struggled against invisible ropes.

I diverted my attention from the fountain to Suze--she was in a stanza that I all know to well--we were about to fight. I looked to my left and found my sisters holding couple of vials and a piece of paper.

"The only people who are willing to fight me are three witches and a newbie shifter?" Seth laughed tauntingly through the boy. "Give it up already! No spell or potion will stop me, especially after this last sacrifice!" What? This wasn't suppose to happen! Seth—not Slater—was suppose to say that!

"Oh, how I do love a good decoy," said another Slater appeared out of thin air. Suze was wide eyed and confused by the multiple Slaters. "If I were in my true form then you wouldn't be able to understand me and vice versa, but when I kill you all,—except for my darling daughter—I wouldn't need to be in this form," Seth-Slater informed us.

"Let. Him. Go!" Suze ordered, her fists clenched.

"Sorry, Susie-Q, but he needs him, and there's nothing you can do; Seth is too powerful, even for these witches," spat Slater. Her face became sour, but still did nothing for Slater held Jesse with a knife at her boyfriend's throat.

"Good girl," Seth cooed.

"We have to throw the potions now!" I hissed to Billie and my sisters. They threw the vials at Seth's feet but nothing happened. Absolutely nothing.

"My dears, you really should brush up on your artifacts!" Seth pulled put from under the light blue polo a golden amulet. "This prevents any witch magic from harming me! And also," he waved his hand and the explosions that should have harmed him. Instead it attacked Billie and my sisters and threw them against the lockers. "be able to manipulate it!" I ran to my sisters to aid them in anyway possible, but I couldn't do anything. Blood loss was too rampant, and I had to do all I could to stop Seth.

"Why Paul?" Suze turned and tried to bring out the humane side of Slater, "Why?"

"Because I love you, and you rejected me. Do you know how that hit my ego? But when I found out what we truly were, how could I refuse?" he smiled wickedly.

"You always thought you were a god, Slater!" Suze snarled back. His smile dimmed at her reaction, and he raised the knife to do the unthinkable.

"Now, you should play nice, Susie, if you don't, then I will be forced to do things that I really don't want to do," he warned her. She took a few steps back, showing that she was willing to comply. As she took her last step, Paul Slater drove the knife through Jesse's heart, instantaneously killing him.

He dropped the body and back away when Suze rushed to Jesse's side and cried.

"How could you?" she screamed, "How could you kill Jesse?"

"It was necessary because he was the official sacrifice and Seth needed a distraction as he killed your precious Father Dom." His smile grew wider to the point of flashing those pearly white at us. He looked my way with the obvious thought of victory. I, in turn, looked at Suze who already left Jesse's body and took her fighting stanza. Between her and Seth was the body of the old priest we failed to protect.

Seth merely grew bored of his reincarnated daughter and flung her, with his mind, against the wall. Her head slumped onto her shoulder, much like the way it did in my premonition.

"Do you see know, witch?" Seth roared, "Nothing can stop me, I'm invincible!" Before I could even react, Seth was about to sentence me to the same fate as everyone else.

Where did we go wrong? What mistakes did we make? We knew everything that was going to happen, so how come we lost? What would ever happen to the child that I was promised? The future Piper and Leo worked so hard for?

Seth and I knew this was the end. The end of the line. No one could help or save us now.

As he opened his mouth to mutter an incantation, a bright, blue swarm of lights appeared in the air. It descended to Suze and formed into a handsome, old man with clergy clothing, much like the old priest was wearing. He held his hand over Suze and healed the head wound she received, then moved on to my sisters and Billie. Soon after he went onto Jesse, they all woke with aching muscles.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Final Act

"Father…Father D?" Suze breathlessly asked the whitelighter. He smiled humbly as he finished healing Jesse. "Oh, God, Father D, it is you!" Suze screamed and ran to hug the whitelighter. And for the first time since his arrival, he spoke.

"Susannah, language!" Suze laughed but soon became worried when Jesse didn't wake up like the rest.

Paul and Seth cackled at the loss.

"It is too late! I have won! Nothing, now nothing, can stop me!" Seth roared with pleasure.

"Want to bet?" Our heads turned to the person who just threatened the rule of the new Source. It was Jesse with all life. His eyes, though, were not normal. They were pure white, filled with hatred, filled power.

"Horus!" Seth snarled at Jesse. Jesse stood there, unmoved, not scared. The priest shooed Suze, Billie and my sisters toward me, obviously predicting immediate doom.

"Family quarrel," he said. We stood there, watching the fight unfold.

Jesse-- or Horus I should say—made the first move by throwing Elder-like lightning at Seth, who, in turn, threw flame fire. The two forces pushed against each other, equal in match, equal in strength. Paul too stood on the side lines, watching, waiting for his master to win.

"Do you know what is wrong with you?" Seth whispered as sweat rolled down the side of his face. "You care. You care about the people around us. We both know you have the capacity to vanquish me, but you don't because that would cause a little explosion, wouldn't it?" A glint of pure evilness simmered in his eyes. "Well, let me just show you how weak you truly are." As if on cue, Paul shimmered from the other side and came right behind Suze pushing her right in Medias res. Piper tried to pull her back, but the whitelighter stopped her, telling her that this had to happen. After angrily blowing him up, she settled with continuously blowing up the demon.

Suze fell to the ground, lifeless and drained of all colors. Horus/Jesse, for a second, let his guard down to help his lover, while Seth laughed at his own daughter's death. Then, Jesse/Horus kneeled over Suze, crying and mumbling incoherent things like, "I'm sorry" and "You were right." As his tears dropped on Suze, her complexion began to brighten again.

"Horus?" she whispered into his ear.

"My love?" he hesitantly replied back.

"Oh, it is you!" Suze exclaimed and pulled Jesse/Horus into a tight hug.

Seth, who was less than pleased by this reunion, began to destroy the surrounding area and shouted, "What is this? How is this possible?"

After Horus helped Suze up unto her feet, she lifted her head as if she were a goddess.

"Hello, Father, didn't expect this reunion did you?" She smiled ruefully and continued in her unusually smooth voice, "Did you really think that Horus thought of this plan? Did you really think that I would really leave his side for the Afterlife? How sad it is that you don't even know me." Her smile quickly became a frown, and her eyes narrowed menacingly.

"Horus, now!" she screamed at Horus. He lifted his hand with the palm side facing Seth. Seth, knowing what would happen, tried to shimmer but ended up in mid-shimmer. "Charmed Ones," she directed her attention to us, "say the spell now!" Paige, Piper and I pulled together and chanted the vanquishing spell of The Source.

"Prudence, Patricia, Penelope, Melinda,  
Astrid, Helena, Laura and Grace;  
Halliwell witches stand strong beside us;  
vanquish this evil from time and space."

Seth burned and screamed as the flames of the demon wasteland engulfed him. And, as usual, he exploded into tiny pieces, like all the others before him. Or after him. Or…never mind.

"It is finally over," Horus whispered into Suze's, or should I say, Hathor's hair. Next they turned to Paul who was currently knocked out on the grounds of the school.

"Those who harm,

Obey my charm,

Now disperse,

Across the earth." Hathor chanted as black balls of matter lifted from the Shifter's body into the atmosphere.

"Thank you for helping us once and for all vanquishing Seth. We will be on our way now to the Afterlife. Jesse and Suze know what to do once we leave. Farewell." At the end of Hathor's broad explanation, the two bodies dropped to the floor and immediately revived.

"What are we to do with Paul?" Suze asked in her usual tone.

"I have a few ideas."

"Jesse," she slightly castigated her boyfriend.


	13. Chapter 13

**_Random Ending Alert_**

Chapter 13: A New Beginning

Jesse and I returned to my safe haven, my home.

After this summer, I wasn't sure what would remain the same and what would be different. But for sure there were going to be some major changes. For example, Father Dom will no longer be performing his duties as a priest/principal, now he has the full time responsibility of taking care of me and Jesse, as our whitelighter. Though, I was pretty sure that it was more for his benefit than ours.

Sure enough, Paul won't be bothering us again, ever. After he convinced the Sisters that his story was one hundred percent true (truth spell, duh), he immediately fled the school without a word, only leaving a note which reassured us that it would be a very long time before we would ever hear from him again.

Then there was me and Jesse. Since the whole demon society found out we were the reincarnations of two powerful gods, apparently now we would be doomed forever to suffer onslaughts of demon attacks, due to demon ego. Oh joy. Of course, we can always call the Sisters to split the attacks.

"Hey, guys, I'm home!" I screamed into the house. No one answered; silence sent shivers down my spine. Did demons already know of our existence? Did they already find us? There was no way of telling which of my questions were correct, other than going inside and facing the problem head on.

"Querida," Jesse squeezed my shoulder lightly, "let me go in first."

"No way, Jesse. You're not going in there by yourself. I almost lost twice in one year. If a demon is in there, I will be by your side, fighting." He didn't respond verbally to my little speech, but gave a nod, showing that he would do the same thing. We stepped into the threshold together, prepared for whatever danger came our way.

"Hello?" I repeated again. There was still nothing, except light breathing from the couch. We traveled lightly over to the area, running spells through minds to find the right one for attacking. I leaned over the couch, expecting a barely alive family member, trying to explain everything in one breath.

"Oh, my God…Billie?" I mindlessly yelped. Over the couch wasn't David or Andy or Mom dying, oh no. It was Billie over Jake, making out passionately. The blonde snapped her head back and gulped deeply.

"Suze?" she asked.

"Suze?!" Jake screamed.

"Jesse?" she screamed. All of us turned into a million different shades of red but didn't address it. That was gross. I just caught Billie and my step-brother making out on the couch, on which I have some intimate moments with Jesse. Gross.

"Yeah…we'll be up stairs if you need us," I said. They didn't even hear me…they were too preoccupied with being flustered.

"You know, though it was rather embarrassing to see Billie and your brother like that…it did give me a few ideas," Jesse seductively smiled and pressed me against my door.

"Jesse, are you okay? This isn't like you." So yeah, I was kind of nervous about Jesse's behavior and oddly excited by it too. But mostly nervous. He probably had some head damage from the possession experience or torture ones (which he conveniently doesn't know that I know).

"Perhaps, but you only live once in a lifetime," he shrugged, "I don't plan on waiting for the next one to do this." He got down on one knee and looked up at me.

"Susannah, I know I don't have a ring with me or asked for your parents' permission, but will you do me the honor of marrying me?" Pure apprehension and anticipation glowed in his eyes, mine, on the other hand, sparkled with love and excitement.

"Jesse, yes, of course I will marry you!" I replied and jumped into his arms. All the fear of rejection went away and was replaced by joy. He carried me into my room, kissing and whispering sweet nothings into my ear, this went on for a few minutes until…

"Cough," a person interrupted us. Jesse gently put me back on my feet and studied the man who was lying across my bed. The man wore clothing that Brad would wear to a formal party: jeans, a "Hot Stud" t-shirt and ratty tennis shoes. His hair was long, and a beard covered his face. A part of his ear was missing…

"Jesse!" he squealed. I narrowed my eyes at him, warning him that Jesse was mine.

"Suze," he passively greeted me.

"Do you guys not recognize me? I guess you wouldn't since…" he trailed off.

"Wow, I can't believe it. Wow." He leaped off my bed and gave Jesse a hug too long for comfort.

"Pardon me for asking, but who are you?" Jesse asked while brushing his shirt of wrinkles.

"Oh yeah!" The man screamed with glee, "I almost forgot! I'm Spike, your familiar!" Familiar? I vaguely recalled the section I read about them at the Sister's place.

"Wait, you didn't help or guide me one bit!" I yelled at the strange man or Spike, which ever you prefer.

"Who said I was your familiar? I'm Jesse's!" he sighed at the last part. "Well, I best get going. The Elders wish for me to visit the Charmed One's former familiar to receive formal training to help guide new familiars. Good-bye!" Spike leaped out of the window and onto the roof from where he gracefully landed on the ground and scampered off.

"That was weird," I stated.

Jesse turned to me with much more mischief in his eyes. "Where were we?"


End file.
